EVS-dagbok 36 2011

Hi!!!
My name is Silvia and I am an Italian volunteer.
I work in the youth centre Broslättsgården and my project is about Human Rights and Gender Equality, the main idea is to create a discussion group with the kids who attend the centre.

The centre is very well organized and always full of children who can enjoy in a safe environment and they have every day the possibility to speak about their problems with the youth leaders. This is a good opportunity for me to learn more about human rights and to see how these topics are discussed in Sweden, indeed I consider the EVS a way to improve my knowledge about gender studies.

A lot of people suffer of discrimination because of gender or sex and, even if European countries consider all citizens equal, the prejudice is well rooted everywhere. For this reason to create awareness among youth and try to break stereotypes and prejudices is important: children will be the citizens of the future!
I appreciate the attention that KEKS pay to topics related to gender. Indeed it is important to create an environment where everyone, boys and girls, can feel comfortable. Unfortunately youth centres are attended for the most part by boys but we will try to attract more girls!

I received support from my mentor and from the colleagues who work in the centre, especially at the beginning and now we are trying together to attract kids to the group. To create a group is not easy, especially since we do not speak the same language. So to create a link with the kids in the centre I planned a cooking group every Thursday with the aim to discover a different recipe every week. Obviously we started cooking pasta! A cooking activity is a funny way to overcome barriers (language barriers as well) and to get in touch with the children.

During my spare time I visit Gothenburg that offers a lot of things to do (concerts, exhibitions, museums, cinema...) and a lot of cafés where to spend time is nice with friends. Moreover it is very easy to spend time in the nature: lakes, forests and see are very close to town.
What else... this is my first time in Sweden.... and I impatience to discover this new country deeper!
Silvia